Governor Villeroy de Galhau on Transatlantic Economic Interdependence at Atlantic Council
Summary
François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, delivered a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC reflecting on one year of transatlantic economic relations. He noted that the global economy proved more resilient than feared, with global growth reaching 3.4% compared to a 2.8% April 2025 forecast, and the euro area showing 1.5% growth with 2.1% inflation. The speech emphasized continued mutual interdependence between the US and Europe despite trade barriers and geopolitical tensions.
What changed
This speech by the Governor of the Bank of France summarizes economic conditions one year after April 2025, noting that global and euro area economies performed better than forecasted despite trade barriers and uncertainty. The speech discusses US growth driven by AI investment, equity market gains, and supportive fiscal policy. No regulatory requirements, compliance obligations, or enforcement actions are contained in this document.
Affected parties: This document contains no compliance obligations. It represents a central bank governor's reflections on economic conditions and does not create, modify, or remove any regulatory requirements for financial institutions, corporations, or individuals.
Archived snapshot
Apr 21, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
François Villeroy de Galhau: One year on - why the transatlantic partnership remains of mutual interest
Speech by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Atlantic Council, Washington DC, 15 April 2026.
Central bank speech | 20 April 2026 by François Villeroy de Galhau PDF full text (802kb) | 9
pages Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to take the floor again at the Atlantic Council, one year after my first speech here. Back in April 2025, we already found ourselves in an exceptionally uncertain environment. One year on, two observations stand out for me. First, the economy has held up better than expected, including in Europe (I). Second, despite the tensions, we need each other, and we need predictability (II).
I. One year on: resilience amid uncertainty
1. The economy and trade have held up better than expected
Despite rising trade barriers, policy uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions, the world economy proved more resilient than feared one year ago: global growth reached 3.4%, compared to a 2.8% forecast in April 2025. The euro area experienced a positive growth of 1.5%, with an inflation of 2.1% in 2025, which constitutes a "good starting position" for 2026. On this side of the Atlantic, the sharp slowdown in US growth we feared a year ago – some analysts were even hinting at a recession – has fortunately not materialised. Why so? US growth has been driven by the AI investment boom – notably in data centres and technology equipment – but also by a sizeable wealth effect from dynamic equity markets (+16% on the S&P500 over the year) and still supportive fiscal policy. This has supported consumption, but unevenly: the top 20% richest households in terms of income make close to 60% of aggregated consumption.
The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the BIS. About the author François Villeroy de Galhau More from this author
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